Social media software firm Expion was founded and nurtured by an engineer. As the Raleigh firm plans for more growth in the United States as well as overseas it is now turning to someone steeped in media and marketing.
Expion on Wednesday announced the appointment of veteran entrepreneur and technology executive Bryan Weiner as chairman of the company.
Weiner, who is CEO of digital ad agency 360i, will stay on as chairman at that company but he brings to Expion a capital infusion and industry connections that Expion is banking on for business growth. For example, both of Weiner and Expion CEO Peter Heffring have have relationships with Facebook and Twitter but they each connect to different teams at the social media giants.
“I work with them at engineering level, Brian has worked with them at the marketing level,” Heffring said. “It’s just completing the skill set that I’ve got and I want him to build out our sales group.”
While Weiner does bring to Expion an undisclosed “seven-figure” investment, Heffring said Weiner’s contribution to the company is not a capital play. At this point in the company’s growth, Heffring said Expion needs a strategic partner in New York, someone with media connections. Heffring said that Expion wasn’t looking for a financial investor but he did not want to take on a partner at this late stage unless that partner was also willing to invest. The only thing that banks or venture capital firms provide is money, Heffring explained. More than money, Expion needs intellectual capital and business relationships.
Heffring, an IBM veteran, founded Expion in 2010. From the beginning, Expion’s focus was on the enterprise – large companies that have global brands. But a single company’s social media presence can stretches across multiple accounts on multiple social media platforms. Expion offers software and analytics tools that helps companies publish, moderate, respond and analyze that presence.
Expion focuses its business in three verticals: consumer, global brands; media and entertainment; and retail/hospitality. The company’s client list today includes Coca-Cola, Mattel, Oreo, ClearChannel and Univision. Besides helping large companies measure social media content, Expion also helps clients leverage it for use across the entire enterprise. For example, a luxury hotel that finds with particular content can have that content and strategy shared and re-purposed with others hotels in the company.
Privately-held Expion does not disclose specific revenue figures. But Heffring said that the company had 300 percent growth from 2011 to 2012 and 200 percent growth from 2012 to 2013. Expion plans to continue focusing on the three business verticals. As it does so, the company also expects to grow its headcount of 70 by 50 percent this year.
Expion initially focused on U.S.-based companies with global brands. But the company is also seeing growth in Europe. A new London office is will work with European-based global brands. The first such deal closed was with Dutch brewer Heineken.
Besides the Raleigh headquarters, Expion’s North American sites include a New York presence with Weiner as well as an office in Canada. The firm is also looking to add new offices in Chicago, San Francisco and Atlanta. Heffring said Expion is looking at adding an Asia presence though the company is still developing its Asia strategy.
